MAGIC AND THE SHINIGAMI DETECTIVE
The Case Files of Henri Davenforth #1
Honor Raconteur
Raconteur House, LLC
April 17, 2018
I've been reading Magic and the Shinigami Detective as a bedtime book and thoroughly enjoyed it. Imagine being a 21st-century police detective, kidnapped and magically abused for months by a mad witch. And upon managing to kill the witch, finding yourself in an entirely different world with no chance of returning to your own. That's what happens to Jamie Edwards. The new world she finds herself in has parallels to Victorian England in the social mores and dress, but with the addition of magic, plus such creatures as werehorses, werefoxes, weremules, brownies, and dwarves at which no one even raises an eyebrow. Jamie is fortunate in her friends, though, Royal Mage Sherard Seaton and especially her new police partner, Henri Davenforth. Henri is a gentlemanly, slightly portly, solitary Magical Examiner (akin to a Medical Examiner) who doesn't know what hit him upon meeting Jamie. The first case that they work together is a break-in of the evidence room at the Fourth Precinct. Everyone knows who did the crime, but how did they break the magical wards on the building? Henri is a little wary of Jamie in the beginning. But he soon makes it his mission to help the lonely refugee feel at home in his world. The two quickly form a meaningful friendship, and maybe more. There is a lot of humor in the two trying to make sense of their two cultures.
Despite finding the magical systems a little confusing, and a couple of editing errors, I give this one an enthusiastic thumbs-up. The characters are charming and even loveable in their humanity. I'm looking forward to the next one, Charms and Deaths and Explosions. Fans of imaginative fantasy will love this one.
RATING- 4 Stars
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